THANKSGIVING: PRAISE FOR AMERICAN AGRICULTURE

Celebrating our agricultural bounty. That worthy purpose brought Native Americans and the Pilgrims together for the first Thanksgiving. Now, centuries later, we continue to give thanks for the agricultural livelihood which is fundamental to our existence. !Pct we forget, the American farmer is the primary element of the most productive agricultural force in the world.

One glance at the rest of the world easily tells us how fortunate we in this nation are. The constantly changing face of Eastern Europe, the starvation throughout much of the African continent, the struggling governments of our South and Central American neighbors, warfare and daily acts of terrorism in the Middle East, the political turmoil stretching across the Asian mainland, and the recent economic unrest in the Soviet Republics all reinforce the gratitude that is certainly owed to our nation's agricultural producers.

World-wide, civil warfare along with the lack of food and inadequate distribution threatens economic and political upheaval. In the United States, however, we remain the envy of the world because of our affordable and plentiful supply of food and fiber.

Although 1993 has brought our Missouri farming communities reduced yields due to excessive rainfall, tlooding, and in some cases, drought conditions, a lack of food to feed ourselves has never been a threat. Indeed, most other agricultural producers world-wide, marvel at the state-ofart agricultural technology that we enjoy here at home.

As we pause to reflect and give thanks for another plentiful harvest in most of our nation, let us be especially grateful for an agricultural system that allows us to feed ourselves and the rest of the world. Maintaining and strengthening the crucial role Missouri farmers and ranchers play in these production efforts must remain our goal for present and future thanksgiving seasons.

Bill Emerson, Cape Girardeau, represents District 8 of Mo., in the United States House of Representatives.